Catching Echoes (Reconstructionist Book 1) Kindle Edition
by Meghan Ciana Doidge
Doidge's talent of creating not only a new type of CSI, but a new kind of magic is FANTASTIC. Her lead, Wisteria Fairchild, is a multi-layered, complex and Complete Female Character with wit as well as the magic of reconstruction. I love the spine of steel or maybe adamantium that the character has, and the ever present and gently laid breadcrumbs that are given to her tragic past.

Reconstruction is the magical form of crime scene reconstruction. Absolutely, fascinating!

There is one tiny, teensy flaw that appears in this book and many Canadian writer's novels. As someone who lives in the middle part of the Pacific Northwest, Oregon specifically, referencing Vancouver – either B.C. or WA without the modifier is confusing because, frankly, the two are close together in terms of the whole Pacific NW. Ms. Doidge goes almost a whole chapter without clarifying it. However, if you have never been to our beautiful corner of the world, Ms. Doidge has an amazing encyclopedic knowledge of the foodie situation as well as our gorgeous country.

Her characters are well done, and she establishing an interesting world without a massive data-dump at the beginning. I can't wait to visit again soon.


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This is a bit of a tough book to review. It's a new trilogy set in an existing world where many of the characters are already known if you've read the previous books. I have not read the other trilogies (two I think) and this series is being marketed as not needing to. But after reading it I think it's probably much more enjoyable if you have read the other books.

It's clear there's an elaborate paranormal version of our world built here but I never felt like I was immersed in it. Instead I felt like there were some scratches on the surface but that I was missing a lot of somethings.

Our characters are fairly one-dimensional. A typical, all too powerful, gorgeous vampire and the timid, not so good at magic witch. It's just been done and I didn't feel there was anything here to really stand this book apart from the very saturated paranormal genre. In fact, for me, it felt like a not as good version of Guilty Pleasures by Laurel K. Hamilton, without the smut. Hamilton may be onto something when it comes to having lots of sexual tension and release in her books; maybe this genre just really needs that to make it palatable...

It's really too bad because the writing is decent and the plot was intriguing; but it just wasn't enough for me. Maybe I've read too many paranormal books but I just wanted something more.

If you're interested in this book I would suggest going to the beginning if the series as a whole; as many people love this world so there's hopefully something there to build off that is missing if you jump in at the beginning of this trilogy.

I've never read any books in the other related series (Dowser and Oracle) by Meghan Ciana Doidge but there is enough backstory given to some characters that it isn't a hinderance.! I do want to read the others now though!

Wisteria is a complex character, she is a witch who uses her magic to reconstruct crime scenes and works as a freelance Reconstructionist. She is working with an ancient vampire, Kett, to solve mysterious deaths where teenage boys are being found drained of blood. It was a fun story to read which kept me guessing and although all the information about the characters is given, i really want to read the other series these characters featured in before (especially Kett!).

I enjoy Doidge's other series, and was happy to see her start something new. This series does tie into the Dowser and Oracle series though, which means there may be a lot of background reading (9) for some/spoilers for other books readers may want to read after reading this. This aside, this was enjoyable and has a fun cast of characters and crazy adventures, much luck her other novels. Fun, easy fantasy but a lot of previous world building that people might find desirable to read before starting this series.

This type of urban fiction isn't usually my bag, but, as I got into the story, I found myself enjoying it. The female "buddy" type characterisation and humorous dialogue reminded me somewhat of Janet Evanovich - no bad thing at all - and the plot moved along nicely to a satisfying conclusion. The world Doidge creates is full of witches, dowsers, and vampires and has been plentifully realised by her other books in related series. As a newby to her work, I probably missed lots of satisfying internal references, so those who are already fans will probably enjoy this even more than I did!

Catching Echoes: Reconstructionist Series Book 1 by Meghan Ciana Doidge has murder, witches, and vampires.

I liked the first of this one quite a lot and was hoping for a fun paranormal romp.

Unfortunately, the charm of the first portion of the book began to dissipate in the middle, and I was not at all impressed with the conclusion.

I liked Wisteria in her reconstructionist role, but the frequent references to a hidden magical power that others seem to recognize and leave Wisteria puzzle--feel contrived. The creepy attraction between witch and vampire is a given. Much of the middle felt like filler, and it isn't a particularly long book, so that's a lot of filler. The conclusion was disappointing.

Doidge has a dedicated fan base who love her books, but if I want a good paranormal YA book, I turn to Maggie Steifvater or Kelley Armstrong. I do enjoy a little paranormal mischief every once in a while, but this series may not be a good fit for me.

NetGalley/Old Man in the Crosswalk Productions

Paranormal/Crime. Dec. 2016. Print length: 234 pages.

Fair warning before you read this book. There are actually 2 other series (Dowser and Oracle) making this the first book in the 3rd spin off. If you go to this website link https://madebymeghan.ca/novels/ Meghan Ciana Doidge has provided a recommended reading order of her books. If you haven’t read those, at this point the books stop working very well as stand-alones and there’s too much you will either not understand or will be ruined for you by spoilers.

However Ms. Doidge did weave a suitable amount of back story in this novel to provide a good understanding of the characters and their roles in the Adept world. Thankfully the author is an incredibly speedy writer and does not force her fans to wait very long between books since Catching Echoes grabs you, taking you along for one heck of a ride then leaving you begging for your next fix.

Her conclusion comes up fast and quick ending on a climax that will make you see red because you want more but there isn’t any yet and you’ll feel surprised as if you never saw it coming but Doidge did subtly leave clues sprinkled about if you knew where to look. She proves her excellent writing talent once again in these well-developed characters as each book opens another facet of their personalities. Her worlds are richly detailed in vibrant landscapes and colors pulling you in like a virtual reality escape.

Although Echoes does have a ‘bit’ of a feeling as if it was written just to buy her some time it’s only because you need some set-up before she gets to the meat of her latest saga.

This will either make her new fans if you aren’t familiar with her work or make her original fans fall in love with her all over again.